VANCOUVER, Dec. 18, 2012 /CNW/ - The Supreme Court of British Columbia
today approved TELUS' proposal to exchange its non-voting shares for
common shares on a one-for one basis. In a 125 page written decision,
the court concluded that the exchange was fair and reasonable and
rejected New York hedge fund Mason Capital's arguments and appeals made
in opposing the proposal.

The court decision stated: "The Arrangement has arisen through a robust
process that has been independently and favourably reviewed. The
benefits to be achieved by the Arrangement are real and substantial."
It continues, "All evidence on this application points to the
conclusion that the Arrangement which has been proposed to the
Non-Voting Shareholders is fair and reasonable…importantly, the
shareholders, including the Common Shareholders who have a real
economic interest in TELUS, overwhelmingly support the Arrangement."
The judge went on to state that "…Mason's arguments display a lack of
regard for the overall circumstances relating to TELUS and its
shareholders, which are to be considered by this Court in the context
of this fairness hearing. As I have earlier stated, Mason can hardly be
considered a spokesman for the Common Shareholders when its strategy
will result in a loss of value to the other Common Shareholders…Mason's
opposition must be viewed through the lens of its unique strategy,
which has nothing to do with the well-being of TELUS and its
shareholders…"

"This decision is positive for TELUS shareholders and supports the
overwhelming approval expressed by them at our October 17 shareholder
meeting," said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. "This
decision confirms our proposal is fair and beneficial to all
shareholders, is widely supported by shareholders with a true economic
stake in our company and is consistent with the principles of good
corporate governance. We look forward to completing the share exchange
in the near future and moving forward with a share structure that
supports excellent corporate governance, share marketability, and
enhanced trading performance as a single share class. I would like to
thank all of our committed shareholders for their support in this
process."

Mr. Entwistle added "the decision furthers TELUS' strategy of enhancing
shareholder value, as it will increase liquidity and marketability of
all TELUS shares. Since TELUS originally announced the proposal on
February 21, the value of both share classes have been far stronger
than the stock market index and TELUS' peers, in part reflecting strong
support from holders of both TELUS non-voting and common shares. As of
December 18, TELUS' non-voting share price was up 20 per cent since the
original announcement was made in February of 2012, while the common
share price was up 16 per cent - about $3 billion in new shareholder
value. During the same period the TSX has declined two per cent.

"At the core of enhancing shareholder value over many years have been
our excellent financial and operational results which are driving the
ability for us to deliver on our dividend growth model. We have
delivered globally-leading shareholder returns amongst all of our peers
retrospectively, and we believe we have the strategy and team to
continue to do it prospectively," Mr. Entwistle said. "Today's positive
court decision augments our momentum in this regard."

On October 17, TELUS shareholders voted decisively in favour of TELUS'
share exchange proposal, with more than 81 per cent of total shares
voted in favour despite Mason Capital's opposition. At the meeting,
62.9 per cent of common shares voted were in favour of the share
exchange, as well as 99.5 per cent of non-voting shares voted.
Excluding Mason's voting block, 84.4 per cent of common shares voted
were in favour of the proposal. The B.C. Supreme Court held a hearing
from November 7 to 9 to consider the final approval of the share
exchange and Mason appeals.

In accordance with the terms of the Court's decision, TELUS must wait at
least five business days before it proceeds with the share exchange. If
Mason does not file an appeal and obtain a further stay during that
period, TELUS will proceed to complete the share exchange process,
including setting an effective time for the share exchange. It will
then likely take an additional two weeks to complete the listing and
delisting of shares on the stock exchanges. TELUS common shares will be
listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time and the
non-voting shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and
the New York Stock Exchange.

Forward looking statement: This news release contains statements about expected future events of
TELUS that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking
statements require the Company to make assumptions and predictions and
are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There can be no
assurance that the final court order in respect of the share exchange
will not be overturned on appeal or that the associated benefits for
TELUS shareholders will be realized. There is significant risk that the
forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate including
realization of the benefits associated with the dividend growth model
and future shareholder returns. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors
could cause actual future events to differ materially from that
expressed in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law,
TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
forward-looking statements.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications
company in Canada, with $10.8 billion of annual revenue and
13.0 million customer connections including 7.6 million wireless
subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million
Internet subscribers and more than 635,000 TELUS TV customers. Led
since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a
wide range of communications products and services including wireless,
data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and
video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team
members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to
charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million
hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS
Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was
honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation
globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals,
becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious
international recognition.